Balotelli joined this summer for £16 million from AC Milan, however, he has netted just once in eight appearances and put in a number of dismal displays.

As for Borini, he switched AS Roma for Merseyside in 2012 for £10 million, yet he has spent much of his time on the side-lines along with a season on loan at Sunderland.

Regardless of the two not showing their best form for the Reds, Borini believes that he and 'Super Mario' have an excellent understanding for one-another's game and could make the difference for a Liverpool side struggling to score goals at the moment.

"Not just because of the language but we were born with the same idea of football, as Italians, so it's really easy to understand each other even without talking.

"He's a player that can change the game whenever he wants. It's a tough league, probably the toughest in Europe - and I think he understands that.

"In the games, he runs a lot and is really giving himself to the team, being very unselfish."

Mixed Reviews

The pair have appeared just twice together so far this season, and put in hot-cold performances.

When they first combined in the Champions League against Ludogorets Razgrad, you could argue that the pair looked comfortable with each other. Borini replaced Adam Lallana with 20 minutes remaining when the score was still 0-0 and seemed to make a real difference.

He gave Balotelli a strike-partner, something he desperately needed and freed up space so his countryman could run at the Bulgarian Champions' defence. Borini was lively throughout, with some smart touches and had a header superbly saved to deny him his first goal of the season.

However, the pair started together against West Ham United and looked really poor. There was a severe lack of movement that we saw in the European tie and the two didn't threaten goal between them, with Liverpool losing the game 3-1.

Healthy Competition

Borini has had more of an opportunity over the past six weeks since Daniel Sturridge has been injured with a thigh strain he picked up on England duty.

Despite Liverpool's main goal-scorer set to return in the near future, Borini is not fazed by his return and relishing the chance of competition.

"We have four completely different players so there is a good choice of players in the squad, because we can all do different things," he told liverpoolfc.com.

"We can all play together and we can all play on our own up front when it is a 4-3-3.

"It is a good selection of strikers and we can all learn from each other.

"I know there are some things that Rickie might do better than me, so I can learn from him. It's the same with Daniel and Mario.

"We all learn from each other if we have the right attitude. We can all play together.

"I've played in lots of teams but that's something I've never seen before - such a different selection of strikers."

Fourth choice

Unfortunately, it seems that Borini is last in the pecking order of Brendan Rodgers' forward-men.

Daniel Sturridge netted 21 Premier League goals last term despite playing in the shadow of Luis Suarez for the most part. He has been badly missed by the Reds and Rodgers has already stated that he is Liverpool's main man upfront.

Despite being in poor form, the Northern Irishman has also persisted with Balotelli up top this campaign, which says that he is rated much more than Borini.

Liverpool also drafted in Rickie Lambert this summer for £4 million and he has be given a lot more of an opportunity than Borini since he moved to Merseyside. Although he cost a smaller fee, and being a much older age, Rodgers clearly sees the Kirkby natives abilities better than the Italians.

Borini is turned into somewhat of an outcast at Anfield. He was loaned out to Sunderland last season were he had a successful spell, however returned to Merseyside not wanted.

Despite the Reds accepting offers from The Black Cats and QPR, the 23-year-old decided to try and fight for his place at Liverpool.

It seems, however, that he will get very few chances at the club.

Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: http://gms.to/writeforgms

Report author of article

DISCLAIMER

This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of
GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article.
GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

Want more content like this?

Like our GiveMeSport Facebook Page and you will get this directly to you.